Paris is one of the most important and influential cities in the world. In terms of tourism, Paris is the second most visited city in Europe after London. Everyone knows all about the iconic sights in Paris, such as the Eiffel Tower and Louvre Museum. But what about other facts that your average guide book doesn’t tell you?
•Every year the French celebrate the storming of the Bastille prison in Paris on July 14th 1789. Usually the jail held political prisoners but on the day the Bastille was stormed there were only 7 prisoners in the jail, none of political significance, and four of them had been jailed for check-forging(伪造支票).
• Paris is called the City of Lights. But it has nothing to do with the power used to illuminate the Eiffel Tower or the streetlights of the city. Lights in this case, means intellectuals, referring to the high-concentration of writers, artists and academics that have always been drawn to the city.
•Shakespeare And Company is the most famous English-language bookshop in Paris and it is named after the original store, owned by Sylvia Beach, which published James Joyce’s classic novel Ulysses in 1922. Now it has been a salon for writers and readers in Paris for more than seventy years.
• Paris is a city with a long, interesting but sadly a blood-stained history. Paris’ Latin motto is “Fluctuat nec mergitur” meaning “It is tossed by the waves, but does not sink.”
MoreinformationcanbegainedfromOnlinetravelguide@whatparis.com .
【小题1】What facts about Paris can we learn from the passage?| A．Paris is the second most popular tourist city in the world. |
| B．Prisoners in the Bastille were all of political significance. |
| C．Paris is called the City of Lights because of the power of the road lights. |
| D．Shakespeare And Company is a meeting place for writers and readers in Paris. |
| A．Paris has a long and interesting history. | B．Paris will never sink into the ocean. |
| C．Parisians are tough in face of challenges. | D．Parisians are drowned by huge waves. |
| A．A news report. | B．A travel guide. |
| C．An advertisement. | D．An announcement. |
